Axa S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

AXA S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 518,809 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 218,002 shares during the period. AXA S.A. owned 0.13% of Automatic Data Processing worth $151,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $1,131,000. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,499 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,969,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 508.5% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 572 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $482,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $305.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,992,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,944. The stock has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $297.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.91. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.